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Ambrus Kovách
Ambrus Kovách was an experienced but rebellious non-commissioned officer in the United Nations Space Command's 10th Shock Troops Battalion. He distinguished himself admirably in the struggle against the Remnant, fighting tirelessly alongside the other members of his ShoTSOC. Early Childhood In the aftermath of the Human-Covenant War, many of the survivors on Human colony worlds took comfort from one another, only finding out later that their significant others were still alive. Ambrus was the result of one of these unions of desperation, the son of a Hungarian gas miner and an Irish union leader who weathered the Covenant invasion of the Sol System with a group of other refugees on a gas mining station. As the law enforcement officers had long since been called to the UNSCDF to defend Earth and personnel were still devoted to restoring Earth, most order was enforced by the criminal elements of the station, often resulting in violence and atrocities. Ambrus' father left his wife to care for the boy and spent all of his money to return to Earth in hopes of finding his family. Ambrus' mother, not wanting the inconvenience of a child, but lacking an abortion clinic, had the baby and abandoned him on the steps of a well-known brothel which had sprung up with the renewed interest of gas mining by the UNSC. Raised collectively by the prostitutes of the Naughty 'n Nice cat house, Ambrus was given a lot of trouble by the tough criminal "punko" kids in his vicinity. From a young age, he was picked on and looked down upon as a "whore's kid," and received a lot of verbal abuse. One day, he decided that he could not tolerate such abuse any longer. He broke out of his quiet and submissive attitude and beat up the three eleven and twelve year-old "punko" wannabes, brutally lighting into them with all the fury his eight years could muster. The bullies were left broken and bruised, while Ambrus walked away unscathed and newly-respected. Teenage Years If anything, Ambrus' childhood was only a foretelling of how his life as a young adult would play out. As he grew into a man, he was guided by the mistress of the cat house, Deidre Palamar, who served as his surrogate mother.Palamar, Deidre. (2628) Life and Times of a Jovian Mistress. Dayomus Publishing House, Ltd. Pages 56-60. Wanting her ward to have a better life than what she and her girls had, she taught Ambrus the importance of loyalty, justice, and responsibility. Of course, he had to make a living while he was stuck on the station, so she also taught him how to pick a lock, stay hidden in the shadows, and lift wallets from unsuspecting patrons. Though he received many offers from local gangs and organized crime outfits, Ambrus turned them all down, preferring instead to stick to his "cover" job as an apprentice mining rig technician. This did not gain him much popularity amongst the criminal population of the station, but Ambrus didn't care. When the local Neo-Koslovic boss, Antonin Varyag, sent a junior enforcer to intimidate the boy, Ambrus severely beat the young man with a spanner wrench, leaving him to limp back to his now-angry boss on a broken leg. Enraged, Varyag ordered a hit to be placed on Ambrus' head, sending his best on-site hit men after him. Had not most of the station's able-bodied population been conscripted into labor operations on the Homeworld, it is possible the Irish-Hungarian would have not lived to see the next day. As it was the six men, though in good condition, unwisely confronted Ambrus outside his flat next to the cat house, an area he was intensely familiar with. Using the terrain to his advantage, he was able to kill three of the assassins with his old M5 pistol. The rest he eliminated in close combat, with his boot knife and fists. After that incident, Ambrus was left relatively alone by the Mafiyas and Syndicates on the station. There would, of course, be the occasional uppity drug-dealer or "punko" who would step up and attempt to challenge Ambrus or orchestrate his death in some way. But, thanks to his natural, almost god-like talent for stealth, surprise, and hand-to-hand combat, Ambrus was always able to overcome these challengers. All of this changed in the year 2598, however. Adult life Escape After almost fifty years of reconstruction on Earth, interest had begun to return to the gas mines in the outer planets of the Sol System. And with that interest came a resurgence in petty crime. No longer could Ambrus continue to flaunt his skill, as the gangs, mafiyas, and syndicates swelled with new recruits that were down on their luck. As the military was still strengthening its hold on the remaining systems, crime organizations were unfortunately allowed near free reign on the gas miners, provided that they did not disrupt the flow of useful materials. Things were starting to look quite bad for the young man, and he went into hiding to escape the many revenge killers that were sent after him. Eventually, it became apparent to him that he only had two options: get off the station or die. The only safe way to secure his departure was to enlist in the UNSC Marine Corps, which had a small recruiting post on a neighboring station. Hopping onto a shuttle with a makeshift disguise, Ambrus was able to sneak into the post and secure safe passage off-station. He, along with several other recruits from the Jovian colonies, were shipped to Basic Training at the military colony world of Arcturus. Training and First Deployment The new prospective Marine took to the training that he received there with as much dedication and determination as he had applied towards his anti-crime crusade on the gas miner, finishing top of his class in all weapons training and physical tests. He caused a bit of a stir when he easily beat his close-combat/mixed-martial arts instructor, breaking the Staff Sergeant's left arm and bruising three of his ribs. He was later forced to apologized to the man, who said that it was nothing. Ambrus graduated with top honors from his class, and received a posting in a Scout-Sniper Platoon on the uneasy Covenant Loyalist front. In one of the many skirmishes that took place on the border, Ambrus' platoon was deployed in a deep jungle operation against a raiding pack of covert ops Brutes. The two forces spent the better part of a week stalking each other through the lower canopies, both losing men to booby traps and ambushes laid by the other side. In the end, the pack was eliminated, but only sixteen Marines from the platoon survived, including Ambrus, who had racked up an impressive twenty kills. He was remembered as having stalked off into the jungle with his spotter and come out at the end of the week, covered in Jiralhanae blood and carrying his severely-injured partner. His hardened personality only became more harsh and silent after this operation, and he would go for weeks without saying a single word. His remaining veteran comrades in the platoon nicknamed him "Silent K" for awhile,Interview with Staff Sergeant K. Holm, ret. UNSCMC and though he did not appreciate it, he would respond to it. After a few months of leave, during which he refused counseling from the Psych Division, he and his platoon mates were returned to active duty. Operation: CONTRALTO Because of his deadly service record, several agencies had their eye on the young scout, including ONI and the ODSTs. They ensured that he was invited to participate in Rapid Reaction Task Force Training, the Marine Special Operations Command's version of the UNSC Army Rangers. After passing the training and earning his "RRTF" certification, Ambrus was reassigned to a task force unit that was operating in support of Sangheili forces who were repelling Loyalist incursions into their territory. Operation: CONTRALTO, as it was so-called, was one of the first official joint-species operations, a military success that provided reasonable rationalization for the emerging AUR. Such proof-of-concept demonstration was hailed by the free press as a "healthy step towards interspecies cooperation."Colonial News Network Editorial, January 27th, 2601 Ambrus earned a Bronze Star and a promotion to Corporal for leading his squadmembers deep into enemy territory to secure a downed Elite dropship. The Sangheili government issued him a commission in the Legion of Valor for his actions, recognizing him as a "noble and most honorable ally, worthy of recognition by the Council."December 18th speech by Councilman Rahd Vertam, moving to recognize the Human contributions in the fight against the Jiralhanae. He was redeployed in 2603 to assist with another strike beneath the CONTRALTO banner, leading his fireteam in battle against Jackal raiders who had been tearing apart Human trading convoys. The Rangers were billeted upon the Sangheilian frigate Glory of the Makers, where they were forced to learn to interact with Elites and understand their culture. During the extended deployment, Ambrus took to Elite philosophy with a vengeance, even persuading one of the weapons-training Majordomos to teach him the fundamentals of Sangheilian martial arts. Because of his Valor Legion status, he was also able to train with formerly Covenant weaponry, and familiarized himself with their plasma-based armaments. After several months eliminating the pirate raiders in the sector, Ambrus received word of his promotion to Sergeant, for noteworthy service on the frontlines. ODST On January 3, 2605, Ambrus was pulled from his billet and spirited back to Arcturus, where he was told that he had been "invited" to join the Orbital Drop Shock Troops' next training cadre, Platoon 301. He readily accepted the offer, and was rushed immediately to an ONI-moderated psychological profiling session. He caused something of a stir when he revealed his vengeful inner personality, but the evaluator hypothesized that such rage against injustice and willingness to do anything towards success would give him an edge on the battlefield, and he was allowed to pass. Unbeknownst to him, they placed a special marker on his service record, to track him for further observation. Training was strenuous for him, the first real challenge he had experienced in quite some time, but on February 21, 2605, he graduated with flying colors, and received the black dress uniform of the ODSTs. After taking a specialization aptitude test, he was sent to the Marksmanship/Advanced Reconnaissance School elsewhere on the planet. During this training session, he learned more about his talents, and was further able to develop them into deadly advantages. When a fellow ODST was injured by a live fire exercise, Ambrus disobeyed a direct order from his superior not to move and ran to assist his fallen comrade.Interview with Corporal James Rosetti, UNSC ODST (2631) Ambrus' actions saved the Trooper's life, but he was brought up on chargesReport of Insubordination filed against Corporal Kovách, Ambrus for his actions on the training ground, approved 2605. for his belligerence towards commanding officers in a life-or-death situation. He would have been drummed out of the service, but the Colonel in charge of the administrative punishment instead decided to demote the Irish-Hungarin to Private, where he would remain out of the command structure. Ambrus remained bitter about this consequence for some time, but grudgingly obeyed any and all further orders. Service History *United Nations Space Command Marine Corps - March 29, 2598 to April 4, 2599 **Recruit - March 29, 2598 **Senior Recruit - May 3, 2598 **Private - June 1, 2598 **Private First Class - September 17, 2598 *United Nations Space Command Marine Corps, Rapid Reaction Task Force - June 6, 2599 to February 13, 2605 **Lance Corporal - December 27, 2599 **Corporal - December 1, 2601 **Sergeant - April 19, 2604 *United Nations Space Command Orbital Drop Shock Troops - February 21, 2605 to Present **Private First Class (demoted) - March 23, 2505 **Corporal - October 4, 2505 **Staff Sergeant - June 1, 2607 **Sergeant (demoted) - August 13, 2607 Behind the Scenes *Ambrus Kovách is based on the popular character comic book character, Walter Kovacs, who is immortalized as Rorschach in the Watchmen graphic novel, and who is Spartan-091's personal favorite. References